[This article was contributed by Electrify Pte Ltd] The nation-wide roll-out of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) is on the horizon, and this could mean saving money on your utility bill. This article will help you plan for the roll-out. And if you’re unsure whether switching to a retailer is the right choice, here’s a list of benefits that could help you weigh your options.

The OEM roll-out will be progressively extended to the rest of Singapore (it is currently only in Jurong) starting from November 2018. It will allow the remaining 1.3 million households to have the choice to purchase their electricity either from SP Group at regulated prices, or from a retailer at more competitive rates. Refer to the rollout schedule here to check when you are eligible to switch.

Potential Benefits of Switching

1. Save up to 20% on your electricity bills

Most plans offered by retailers are generally cheaper compared to the regulated tariff. Furthermore, with so many retailers in the market, consumers stand to benefit even more from some healthy competition among retailers themselves. This competition may drive them to offer even more attractive price plans and discounts to boost sign-up rates.

2. Win attractive promotions and freebies upon signup

Retailers often strive to outshine their opponents beyond just prices, by bundling in free gifts and other value-added services. Now is the best time to take advantage of this and grab those vouchers and freebies!

3. Choose from more energy options

You now have the liberty to choose how you can power your home, either through traditional or renewable energy. If you’re concerned about the environment and want to play your part in promoting sustainable living, you can do so by purchasing clean energy from certified retailers.

4. With freedom of choice, comes the power of voice

As a consumer, you can now decide how you buy your electricity. By switching to a retailer that provides the package and service you value, you indirectly provide feedback on what is important to you. Subsequently, it might prompt other retailers to improve their plans and services, in an effort to entice new and existing consumers to sign-up or re-contract.

5. Maximise savings through awareness of electricity consumption

If you ever wondered why your electricity bill was so high and wanted to reduce the cost, with only one energy provider (at one energy rate), the only option was to cut your electricity consumption. Now, we have other options. We can benefit from being aware of how and when we use electricity, and can pick a plan that might better fit our needs.

In Conclusion

The introduction of OEM can make us more conscious about how we consume electricity. Beyond buying electricity at the regulated tariff from a single supplier, we can now choose between 3 different types of plans: fixed, discount off the regulated tariff, peak and off-peak.

To maximise savings, ultimately, it’s all about understanding our usage patterns and finding a plan that can cater to our needs. This eventually leads us to be more aware of our consumption and to hopefully conserve our usage, which saves cost and­ natural resources in the long run.

About Electrify

While the process of switching has been made seamless, the comparison process isn’t as straightforward. Understanding your usage pattern is one thing, browsing through a long list and finding the right plan that meets all your needs is another. That’s the gap Electrify is striving to bridge. Electrify is Singapore’s first retail electricity marketplace, with the aim of helping household and business consumers compare electricity plans with ease. To find out more about Electrify, please visit their website.

1 Comment on 5 Reasons Why Switching to a Open Electricity Market (OEM) Retailer Benefits You

After extensive research, I find that Ohm is one of the best alternative electricity suppliers. Choose either Fixed Ohm or Discount Ohm depending on your likings. I chose Discount Ohm as I have a feeling that the tariffs may drop. Fixed Ohm is also very good, and in fact better if tariffs rise.

Benefits of Ohm:

Their discount off tariff rate is currently the best at 22%.

Very smooth transition as they are partners with SP group.
For instance, there is no need for any paperwork nor additional payment of deposit.

Very nicely done website.
Signing up is immediate, just fill in some personal details online, and you will get the Welcome Email in less than 15 minutes.

Ohm absorbs the transmission loss.
Basically, electrical energy is lost as heat while traveling through the cable, Ohm absorbs this and charges consumer based on metered usage. This is worth approximately 3.4% savings.

A 3-month trial period.
If within 3 months you decide to change plans, there is no penalty. Hence, you are not locked into a fixed price which may turn out to be undesirable.